Fourth World

Our video conference on Feb 28th with Professor Dotson was both enlightening and eye opening. In my travels I haven't been to the midwest as much.  I have mostly ventured in the south, southwest, north, northwest and west. With the recent migration of midwesterners to the south, I had some indication that the economic situation was bad, but had no idea to what effect until Professor Dotson presentation.

Professor Dotson's idea of "Fourth World" seemed a bit mis-useful at first until the pictures began. I think that Professor Dotson did a good job in going over the history of automobile industry. He indicated that many blacks moved from the south to the midwest in search of better jobs and opportunities. However the move was not without it's consequences. Many of the blacks were still subject to racism and discrimination within housing and schools.

Professor Dotson also showed us some clips from Gary, Indiana, (Michael Jacksons birthplace). Gary, Indiana was the thriving in the 50's and up until the 90's. The clip that he showed us was a bit disturbing. There were vacant buildings such as schools, libraries, churches, houses and recreational centers. The city was a complete ghost town, or as Dotson calls it a "Fourth World". Many residents have moved away leaving behind furniture, toys and clothes. The housing market has definitely been hit hard here.  Dotson informed us that there were some contractors who have acquired some of the deserted land and were planning on rebuilding communities, but at prices that would be unaffordable to most families. How does this connect to our readings?  We have been reading and discussing articles on the injustice treatment of blacks. From the strategically placed neighborhoods, to the unequal distribution of resources/money being funneled between black and white schools, which still exist today.

Professor Dotson shared some of his own personal experiences about his grandfather who lived in south. It was an introduction to his life's work with architecture and social justice. He showed us pictures and shared stories about the NAACP organization within his country town.

The presentation and readings were eye opening but not surprising. If we as social justice advocates are to combat these injustices, it is imperative that we don't just focus on one specific area, but look at the whole picture.


Niesha

Is it Black vs White? or Working class vs The Capitalist Class

This is an article from the Bloomberg report. It just reconfirms the oppressor's antics against the oppressed.  I am not so much talking about minorities, but I am referring to those descendants of the white indentured servants who came to America either enslaved or a slave to a debt owed.  While we are up in arms about abortion and "other peoples" wars.  "The Capital class" as Marxs calls it is continuing to profit off of the working and middle class.  How is it that the middle class and the working class pays the most of the taxes, while the 400 of the wealthiest individuals don't pay hardly anything. These people can afford to pay taxes. Did they ever think that if the wealthy paid a percentage of their income to the government as us "working class people" wouldn't that cut into the budget deficit?

Also it is mighty funny that Republicans want to get rid of programs like Planned Parenthood and Medicaid, but they don't want anybody getting rid of an unwanted pregnancy, yet they don't want to help provide help financially either. So, if you keep your child and you can't afford to take care of your child, then oh well. They don't want to increase minimum wage, but they want to increase taxes and consumer spending.


Our problems have gone beyond black and white, it has entered into rich and poor.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/08/how-rich-pay-no-taxes_n_846518.html?ref=nf

International Civil Rights Museum

The International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, NC was more local than international. Although the design of the building used both contemporary with a touch of historical pieces, there still seemed to be something that was missing. We started the tour by going down the escalators to the basement of the building. There was a brief pause for a video clip introduction to the history of the Woolworth building. After the clip we walked through a room that were filled with "quasi-graphic" images of blacks being violently killed for any reason that the oppressed felt was disrespectful. The room wasn't as graphic and disturbing as I thought that it would be. It was almost like the images that are shown on TV that are filtered for all audiences. Our tour leader then led us through a series of rooms that focused on the Sit-in movements and other historical facts about Greensboro.
Many of the stories and the photographs shown, were familiar to me, being that I am a native of Greensboro. Though I must say that I did learn some new facts that were interesting to me. I do feel as if the museum took somewhat of what Freire (1970) calls a "banking concept" educational approach to the delivery of the knowledge given to the visitors. Meaning the information was given and not fully experienced. The museum coordinators could have conveyed the experience a little more in depth that would leave me thinking that I wish that I was apart of the movement in the earlier days. Though this was not considered a formal learning process, it was an opportunity for the visitors to learn and possibly used what they have learned to educate others. Am I "hating" in the words of Taurean and being too critical, or am I just a student trying to understand and want to experience more than just a commentary?